


What's Between Us Is Ours Only

by okwallman



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous Slash, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of bullying but it isn't serious, Rated teen because of one swear word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23769862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okwallman/pseuds/okwallman
Summary: "Tsukishima is a bully to two types of people: Assholes and friends. It’s been this way since he was a little kid, with his small head with a mop of blonde hair on top, lanky stick-like body and smirking lips with the ability to spout out venom-filled words a mile a minute."Alternatively, Sugawara worries about whether or not Tsukishima is bullying Yamaguchi.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 292





	What's Between Us Is Ours Only

Tsukishima Kei is a bit of a bully.

Not to say he’s the type of person who goes up to a person and says rude things just for kicks and giggles. He takes care not to say anything mean or demeaning to someone he doesn’t know or someone who doesn’t deserve it. He often gets the urge to blurt out sarcastic remarks, but he can hold himself so it’s alright.

Tsukishima is a bully to two types of people: Assholes and friends. It’s been this way since he was a little kid, with his small head with a mop of blonde hair on top, lanky stick-like body and smirking lips with the ability to spout out venom-filled words a mile a minute.

Kageyama and Tsukishima’s arguments are routine. Every day like clockwork, they come into the gym, find something dumb to fight over and revert to elementary school kids. Whenever they see each other’s faces, they grimace or wince in a definitely exaggerated manner. With Kageyama, Tsukishima isn’t above limiting his vocabulary to insolent words only. It’s familiar and somehow turned into something fun as time passed. Fun to do, fun to watch. It’s mostly the same with Hinata, but with slightly less hostility. Tsukishima can’t help but groan every time he hears the other middle blocker’s overly-loud voice after a day of demanding schoolwork, nor can he help rolling his eyes at _everything_ he said.

And Tsukishima knows, alright, he knows that he’s being a child when he does this. No matter how articulate his insults are or how well he stuffs copious amounts of sarcasm into his tone, at the end of the day, he’s still being petty. But Tsukishima Kei is a bit of a bully, so he doesn’t stop.

******************

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are special. Their classmates know to go to Yamaguchi if they can’t find Tsukishima. The teachers know to ask Tsukishima if Yamaguchi didn’t come to school that day. Their teammates knew that without one, the other would definitely have an off day. It isn’t something you could shrug off as ‘they’re best friends since childhood’ when asked.

But oftentimes, they get confused. Yamaguchi is the only person Tsukishima is close to, but he still gets snarky comments thrown at him without a hint of amusement. Tsukishima still rolls his eyes at him, clicking his tongue. Tsukishima is still somewhat _mean_ to Yamaguchi, in a way that normal best friends aren’t. It isn’t nearly as aggressive as it is with the other first years, but it’s there and they don’t know what to make of it.

Yamaguchi is a gentle person. His shy and timid personality invokes the protective side of others, but also makes him a target to those who prey on what they labelled as weak. Yamaguchi isn’t _weak,_ but he does have problems standing up for himself to a certain point. It’s disturbing sometimes, how Yamaguchi is so kind-hearted that he doesn’t realize people were being intentionally mean until the damage had already been done. Just imagining him being on the receiving side of Tsukishima’s snide remarks is too much to bear.

This is brought to light by Sugawara, unsurprisingly, on a cold Thursday evening after seeing Tsukishima coldly refuse Yamaguchi’s towel offering.

“Daichi!” he says in his usual upbeat manner, but it isn’t hard to acknowledge the distinctive edge to his tone. He lightly jogs over to the captain who’s taking down the net. “Hey, can we talk for a second?”

Sawamura looks at him curiously for a second and nods, not stopping his work. “Sure. You alright?”

“I’m good, but, well,” Sugawara says and promptly lowers his voice, letting the sound of Kageyama and Hinata’s screaming drown out his words, only speaking loud enough for Sawamura to hear. “Do you think there’s a problem between Yamaguchi and Tsukishima?”

Sawamura stops then and looks at the vice-captain’s worried eyes. He looks slightly confused and it’s completely understandable. Usually, if Sugawara sees a problem in anything, he doesn’t feel the need to consult the captain. Especially concerning personal situations, Sugawara is a very headstrong person and this is known by even those who are mere acquaintances. “What do you mean by that?” he asks attentively, ever the good captain. “I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary today.” He adds and an exasperated sigh seeps into his voice.

“Exactly,” Sugawara says, putting his hands on his hips, always one to accentuate his point proudly and expressively. “Don’t you think their ordinary is a bit odd for people who have been best friends since childhood?”

Sawamura seems to be surprised by Sugawara’s statement. He’s deep in thought for a second and then he lowers his voice as well. “Suga, I’m not sure if we’re supposed to be meddling with this…” he says tentatively.

“I know, but-“ Sugawara insists, voice taking on a desperate tone as he speaks. And he really _does_ know. “Look, I wouldn’t normally, either. But they’re meant to be super close, and they walk home together basically every day. They’re attached at the hip and yet Tsukishima is still really cold to him!” he moves his hands from his hips and folds them in front of his chest in a somewhat troubled manner. “Daichi, if something weird is going on, I need to know. I don’t want to see them fall out or something. What if,” Sugawara hesitates and sighs, voice dropping to a whisper. “What if Tsukishima’s bullying him, or something?”

Sawamura’s expression turns alarmed at his words and he straightens up, stealthily glancing at the duo in question and looking back at Sugawara without skipping a beat. “As much as I hate to admit it,” he says. “You might be right. Let’s keep an eye on them, just in case. Notify some others as well so that they keep an eye on them.” Sawamura leans in. “ _Responsible_ people, Suga. Do not alert the coach, nor people who will most definitely be way too obvious. This has to remain a secret since it might be upsetting to those involved if we’re wrong in our assumption.”

And _that_ is how his mission to learn whether or not something is wrong starts.

******************

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi chirps excitedly, wide eyes glimmering as he runs up to Tsukishima with a wide grin, letting the ball in his hands drop to the floor. “That was _insane!_ I bet this is gonna leave so many teams in shambles!”

Tsukishima raises an eyebrow at him, making an unimpressed sound. “That’s too dramatic. I don’t see how this is gonna be of any use yet, Yamaguchi. It’s really unpolished.”

“But Tsukki, now that you jump _super high,_ I bet that will be enough to-“

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima grunts and walks past Yamaguchi to get to his water bottle. Yamaguchi only looks more excited as he follows his closest friend to the side of the court.

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” Ennoshita murmurs as he watches the ordeal from the other side of the court. “It’s not very normal, but Yamaguchi doesn’t seem to mind.”

“But Yamaguchi doesn’t mind _anything,”_ Sugawara said, gnawing on his lower lip worriedly. “What if he’s just persuaded himself that this is normal behaviour? What if it falls apart someday?”

“It’s no use if we just watch since it’s their norm anyways. We should talk to Tsukishima soon and not let it sit for too long,” Ennoshita says and pushes himself up, grabbing a ball and passing it to Sugawara. “Hey, can you set for me?”

Ennoshita’s words soothe the unrest within Sugawara and thankfulness blooms in his chest.

******************

_“After practice tomorrow, let’s just go and ask Tsukishima how long he’s been friends been Yamaguchi. We shouldn’t pry too much, though, because Tsukishima would go on the defensive,” Ennoshita says as he munched on some junk food he got from Sakanoshita Store. Sugawara nestles further into his coat and quickens his steps, motioning the younger to do the same. “Maybe we can go ask Yamaguchi if he’s okay with how Tsukishima’s treating him.”_

_“It might be a bit too head-on, but I guess-“ Sugawara mutters, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, alright. I guess there isn’t really another way.” He feels like a nasty person, sticking his nose into places its not meant to be, but he knows he will feel even nastier if he stays back. Sometimes, Sugawara curses his personality._

Sugawara takes a deep breath and starts towards Tsuskishima. It’s now or never. He passes Nishinoya and Tanaka who are horsing around and as he approaches Tsukishima and calls out, “Hey, Tsu-“

He’s cut off by a yelp and a crash. Startled shouts sound in the gym. Sugawara flinches and Tsukishima, who had been putting his water bottle and towel in his sports bag, jumps up and whipps around as if he had recognized the voice. Immediately his eyes widen and he starts running towards the voice’s owner. Sugawara, puzzled, turns and looks at whatever had caused the scene.

Yamaguchi is on the ground, clutching his side and leaning on the net post as a stray volleyball slowly ceases its bouncing right next to him. Hinata’s hands are on his temples as he shouts desperate apologies, knees trembling where they keep him barely upright right next to Yamaguchi. Kageyama is just staring at them with a shocked look and his hands stuck in his setting position. Sugawara’s brain quickly matches the dots and he’s about to jump into action, but Sawamura beats him to it.

Who, in turn, is gotten ahead of by Tsukishima.

“Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima says, tone alarmed in a way that not one of them had heard before. “Yamaguchi, hey, are you okay?” He crouches down next to his friend and puts his arm around the side Yamaguchi was clutching, gently pulling him away from the post and towards his chest. Coach Ukai enters Sugawara’s field of view a second later. The blonde man runs to Yamaguchi, kneels down and asks him a couple of questions. His voice is panicked but hushed enough that they can‘t hear him. Yamaguchi nods lightly in response to his words and Ukai gets up, this time walking towards Sugawara.

“Suga, go and tend to Yamaguchi,” he says, apparently having decided that the boy’s injury isn’t bad enough for him to keep a close check on him. He looks impossibly annoyed, but when his eves avert to Yamaguchi, they soften immediately. “I and Sawamura will handle the freak twins.” He’s grumbling swear words to himself as he walks away towards two terrified first years.

Sugawara forces himself to nod vigorously to knock himself out of his stupor and runs to where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are on the ground. He lowers himself down and moves in front of Yamaguchi, wincing when he saw his shut eyes and barely-there tears.

“I-it’s not that bad,” the pinch server says, but it’s hardly believable with how much of it comes out as a whimper. Tsukishima’s hold around him visibly tightens and Sugawara has half a mind to tell Tsukishima to be careful, but he stops himself. “I just hit my side on the post.”

“More like it _rammed into your side,_ Yamaguchi!” Tsukishima said, panicked and loud. It can easily be confused with frustration but Sugawara can tell the difference- he’s heard Tsukishima frustrated _so_ many times that he can distinguish the pitch of his tone. Yamaguchi winces at the volume and an apologetic expression etches itself to Tsukishima’s face immediately. “Sorry. Let’s get you up.”

He and Sugawara gently help Yamaguchi get up to his feet and the boy sways a little. Tsukishima is right behind him to steady him, though, and for that Sugawara is very glad. “Careful, Yamaguchi, careful,” Sugawara says soothingly when Yamaguchi moans quietly in pain. “How bad is it?”

“I don’t know,” Yamaguchi whispered. “It’s bruised, I guess.”

“It’s not just bruised, you’re literally moaning in pain,” Tsukishima points out and averts his eyes to where the coach is reprimanding Hinata loudly as the captain stares at him with his nightmare-fuel angry eyes. Hinata is basically shuddering under the unwanted attention. Sugawara feels bad for the kid, but it’s a notion not shared by Tsukishima who smirks smugly and looks back at Yamaguchi. “What a dumbass.”

“It’s okay, Tsukki, he didn’t mean to do it.”

Tsukishima looks at him for a second, and then a small, fond smile appears on his face.

“Since practice is done, I can take over from here. Thank you,” Tsukishima says to Sugawara without looking away from Yamaguchi. Sugawara nods dumbly and watches along with his teammates as Tsukishima helps Yamaguchi to the side of the court, possibly to inspect his side. Takeda also rushes next to the duo to check Yamaguchi’s state. Tsukishima keeps a gentle hand on Yamaguchi at all times, whether it be on his head, his shoulder or the small of his back.

Sugawara flinches when he suddenly feels Sawamura’s hand on his shoulder. He looks back only to see his friend’s content face.

“Hinata jumped too far to the side as he was trying to spike. I guess we shouldn’t have worried too much,” he says with a grin. “All it took was Hinata’s usual antics to realize we were wrong.”

Sugawara nods, still bewildered from how quickly Tsukishima’s demeanour had changed. “You’re right. I guess we worried too much, after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote something similar to this a few years ago but didn't finish it, so I decided to rewrite it! Thank you very much for reading :)
> 
> P.S: I'm sincerely sorry about the title LOL


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